


Time Tested

by siophiefandom



Series: Time Trilogy [3]
Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F, paily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:19:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7402447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siophiefandom/pseuds/siophiefandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I got a prompt for a one-shot about the Paily from the "Time Will Tell'/"The Test of Time" AU going back to California and looking back on their lives together. This story probably won't make much sense unless you've at least read "The Test of Time." Rated T for some language and hints of sexy times. Definitely a one-shot.</p>
<p>Originally published on fanfiction dot net, March 31, 2015</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Tested

"What? Why are you and Mom coming? It's not a _parents'_ weekend. It's a hosting trip for recruits. You and Mom should know that more than anybody. Didn't they have those when you went to Stanford?" The sarcasm was evident in Shay's voice when she spat out that last sentence.

"Yes, of course they did, Shay. And we _know_ that we don't have to come with you. We just haven't been back to campus in a few years, so we thought that this would be a good excuse. We _thought_ that you'd be happy to have some alumnae with you to show you around the campus."

"It's not that, Nay. I'm going to be the only one with parents following her everywhere. Can't I just be me - not your baby - for one weekend? I'm almost 18!"

"Shay, this isn't about treating you like a child. Your Mom and I just thought that we could have some good family time before you went off to college."

"So, what about the twins? Or are they coming, too?"

" _Mitchell and Lindsey_ are staying with your Grandpa Nick." Emily hated lumping the twins together. Shay knew. That's why she referred to them as "the twins."

"I can't believe that I have to have my _mommies_ following me around like a preschooler. You guys refuse to accept the fact that I've grown up!"

"Okay!" Emily threw up her hands in surrender. She knew what it was like to be young and have the need to show one's independence. The trip hadn't been about chaperoning Shay – at least, she and Paige didn't think so. Perhaps, on some subconscious level, that had been their motivation. But, mainly, they wanted some time to bond with their oldest daughter before she left the nest. "I can understand that you want to do this on your own. Your Mom and I will stay out of your way. You'll be hanging out with the tennis players, and we'll be over with the swimmers. And, if we do happen to cross paths, you don't have to acknowledge us."

Shay gave her a hug. "I'll acknowledge you," she sighed. "As if people won't be able to tell that you're my mother anyway!" she laughed.

It was true. Shay was unmistakably Emily's daughter. For years, Emily called her "Mini-Me," but that nickname faded as Shay grew to be the taller of the two by a couple of inches.

"We can get separate seats on the airplane, too."

"No, Nay. Don't go overboard. This is not me rebelling against my parents. I just want to be able to do this weekend like a real college student."

"I understand, honey. Your Mom and I weren't thinking." Shay shook her head to indicate that it was okay. "And maybe we'll ask Nick to watch Mitchell and Lindsey a little bit longer. It might be nice for your Mom and me to have some time together, back where it all began. Do you think that you'll be okay flying home by yourself?" She playfully poked her daughter in the ribs with the question.

"I'll survive!" Shay deadpanned. As she was about to turn around and walk away, she asked, "Nay, are you going to visit Uncle Fred and Aunt Gloria?"

Emily nodded her head sadly. She still couldn't get on an airplane without remembering how she had met the Herndons – a chance encounter that changed her life in so many ways. "We haven't been out there since…" She trailed off, and Shay came over to give her another hug.

Gloria had passed away at an assisted living facility outside of Chicago about five years earlier. Fred was at her bedside, holding her hand. He, totally unexpectedly, passed away less than four hours later. He hadn't been in poor health at all. As their son said in his eulogy, "My Dad would have said that it was four hours longer than he would ever have wanted to spend apart from my Mom. He used to tell me that, when Mom died, he would hold his breath until he joined her. I have to think that, when she died, something within him stopped breathing. Something that had been staying strong only for as long as his dear wife _needed_ him to be strong." Fred Jr. choked up. "Dad," he said, looking up toward Heaven, "Thank you for staying strong for Mom. Now, enjoy your rest. You've both earned it."

Paige, Emily, and the kids were there in California for the funeral and interment.

The twins never really knew Fred and Gloria, except through Skype, and through the stories that their moms recounted to them – and to each other. Thus the Herndons were almost a legend to Mitchell and Lindsey, the folkloric knowledge of their exploits having been handed down like Gospel to them from the previous generation.

But Shay knew Fred and Gloria. Shay never forgot the kindly old lady who danced with her till her elderly, ailing body couldn't dance anymore, and, who, when her body wouldn't let her dance anymore, read book after book with her, long after her parents would have told her that it was time for bed. The lady who was willing to abandon adult conversation the following day and sit at the low, kid-sized table in the children's section with Shay in her lap, reading until it was time to go home.

"Give them my love," Shay said, still hugging her mom.

It had not been the children's first encounter with death. Ramona, patient, loyal, and protective to the end, had passed away two years earlier. The family wanted another dog, but that never happened. There was no replacement for Mona.

* * *

"Shay Fields-McCullers?" the ticket agent asked as he looked at the three IDs that he had been handed. Shay smiled, raised her hand, and stepped forward. Paige dipped her head and smiled to herself. She did that pretty much every time that she heard her daughter's full name.

When Shay was thirteen, she asked Emily why she wasn't named "McCullers." Emily sighed. "You'll have to ask your Mom that question."

They called Paige in and she explained it. "I did it for you, Pumpkin. I didn't want you to have to go all through life carrying the name, 'McCullers' on your shoulders. I told your Nay, 'Stop the insanity!'"

Shay wasn't amused. "But you're my _Mom_! Why wouldn't I want your name to be my name, too?"

They three of them discussed it at great length. Although Emily was wary of all of the ramifications of changing Shay's name, in the end, Paige was outnumbered. Ultimately, they decided to give Shay a waiting period. If she still wanted to change her name when she turned fifteen, they would go to City Hall and have it legally changed.

Shay couldn't wait for her fifteenth birthday. In the meantime, she wrote "Shay Fields-McCullers on everything, and, whenever she saw anything with her legal name on it, like report cards, school programs, or letters, she would defiantly add "-McCullers" after the name "Fields."

Once Shay showed herself so determined to add "McCullers" to her name, it was a much easier sell for Mitchell and Lindsey. Paige only wanted their assurance that they wanted to do it for themselves, not under the pressure of Shay's decision. The twins, for their part, wanted to be sure that Emily understood that the decision wasn't a rejection of her, or an attempt to ally themselves, somehow, more closely to their birth mother. Once it was all settled, the three of them ended up getting their names changed on the same day. All of the grandparents were there to witness the signing of the paperwork at City Hall, and for the big party afterwards. They completed the name change a couple of weeks before Shay's fifteenth birthday. It was obvious, by then, that she wasn't going to change her mind, and, since all three of the children were having their names changed, their parents didn't want the date to be linked to Shay's birthday. "Name Day" became a celebration in itself, and they exchanged gifts as they would for a birthday or anniversary.

* * *

As the plane made its descent to San Jose, Paige and Emily gave their daughter the talk about choices and responsibility. They wanted to get their final good-byes and speeches in while they were still on the plane, rather than embarrassing Shay by being helicopter moms in front of the rest of the Stanford prospects who would be waiting for the shuttle. Once they deplaned, they would be free to head their separate ways: Shay, who had no checked bags for the weekend, to catch the shuttle, and Paige and Emily, whose trip was a little longer, to pick up their checked bags and their rental car. The two of them had arranged to visit Stanford the following week, after recruiting weekend was over, to minimize their chances of running into their daughter on campus and embarrassing her in front of her peers.

As was usual when they traveled together, Paige picked up their bags while Emily went to take care of the rental car. She pulled the car around to the front of the Arrivals terminal so that Paige could load the bags into the trunk. Once the bags were in, Paige motioned to Emily to move over to the passenger's seat. Emily rolled her eyes, but climbed out of the car to comply. Paige settled in behind the wheel, putting on her seat belt, adjusting the mirrors and her hair, and donning her aviators, with another quick check of the mirror to make sure that everything was perfectly in place. She was just so smug and cocky, and all Emily wanted to do at that moment was jump her.

"You had to get a sports car?" Emily teased.

"Muscle car," Paige corrected, still making final adjustments to her badass look. "Hey – Shay's getting a tennis scholarship," she pointed out, finally looking over at her wife, "so we may as well burn through her college fund!"

"Always the practical one, aren't you, McCullers?"

"Check out this sound system," Paige enthused, punching up the 80s channel on the satellite radio. Emily indulged her for a couple of songs before she turned the radio off. She didn't want to fill the space with music. She wanted to enjoy the time talking with her wife.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Emily said, squeezing the thigh on which she was resting her hand. Paige looked over and smiled her agreement. "It reminds me of when we were kids."

"We spent a lot of time on the road, didn't we?" Paige smiled over at her again.

"Yeah – chasing down your damned map!"

"I would just like to remind you that you're the reason behind that damned map!"

Emily gently stroked her thigh. "You always do remind me of that fact!"

Over the years, they had run the number of Xs to 39. They traveled for Paige's seminars and for some conferences where Emily presented papers. For the most part, they had Pam and Wayne come into Philadelphia to stay with the grandkids for these trips. They did travel with the kids as well, of course, pulling them out of school, occasionally, to do some "road scholarship," as Paige called it. There were also trips to watch Shay and the tennis team compete, as well as the college visits earlier in her senior year. And, of course, the McCullers Family Reunion, in Nebraska.

"It's going to be tough getting those last eleven states in," Emily observed.

"Yeah. Well, ten of them, at least. Alaska's a slam dunk." Paige's bucket list included seeing the Northern Lights, and she and Emily had talked about taking a 25th anniversary cruise to Alaska.

"I know, I know. Alaska in January. I must really love you!"

Paige smiled. "And I love you for going with me!"

Emily took hold of Paige's hand and pressed it to her lip, retaining her hold on it as she moved their hands to the space between her own legs. "We're going to have a hard time knocking off those Southern states."

Paige smiled. "Maybe Shay will decide to play for an SEC school."

Shay had the long limbs and muscular physique that would have been well-suited for the pool, but she never took to it the way that the twins did, and her parents never pushed her. She came into her own on the tennis court, and she also excelled in basketball and lacrosse.

"You don't want her to go to Stanford?"

Paige shrugged. "If _she_ does. I mean, I was lucky enough to go to my first-choice school. That's what I want for Shay."

"Oh, I know. I want that, too. I just want her to want Stanford to be her first choice!"

Paige squeezed Emily's hand. "Where's Bryce going?"

Emily let out a long sigh. "I don't know. She said that he's talking about going to UCLA. I guess that it depends where Shay goes." Emily sighed again. "I just – I don't know why she thinks that _Bryce_ is her everything. They're still in high school. She needs to see a little more of life before she decides that someone is _the_ one." Paige chuckled. "What?"

"You mean, wait until she's two months into her freshman year the way that you and I did?"

" _Paige_!"

"I know, I know. We're different. Soulmates."

"You know what I'm saying, though."

"Yeah, of course. But, on the other hand, all of your Rosewood friends did all right with their high school sweethearts."

"Almost all," Emily said sadly, turning her head to look out of the window, thinking about Hanna.

Paige rubbed her thigh gently. "She'll take him back, Em. She always does."

Emily nodded, letting out a deep breath.

"You know that Shay knows about it, right?"

Paige looked over, confused. "About what?"

"About the map," Emily said matter-of-factly, watching as her wife's face grew a progressively deeper shade of red.

"No!"

"You haven't noticed the way that she cringes whenever we talk about visiting a new state?"

"How could she possibly know?"

"Oh, Paige! You know what I always tell you! We Filipinas are very intuitive!"

"And she's like, what? One eighth Filipino?"

"Well, apparently, that's enough!" she smiled. "Besides, she takes after me in every other way!"

"And poor Mitch and Linds have that McCullers cluelessness!"

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "It's a good thing that they have each other!"

"Oh, God, yes! I doubt that Mitchell would ever date at all if Lindsey didn't have his back!"

* * *

It was dark when they got to the lake house, and they were exhausted from traveling. "Wow, this place hardly seems to have changed at all, does it?" Emily smiled.

"Nope! It's still the same old dilapidated piece of shit that it was the first time that we came here!"

"Hey – don't ruin the memory of our first time," Emily pouted, grabbing Paige by the shoulders.

"You're right," Paige laughed. "As you said, it was perfect, because it was the two of us."

"You were so cute," Emily reminisced, moving her arms up and behind Paige's neck, giving her a kiss. "You wanted everything to be perfect."

"I was scared out of my mind, Em. I wanted everything to be perfect to up the odds in my favor."

Emily stroked Paige's cheek with her fingers. "You really were clueless, weren't you? God, Paige, I was so hot for you, we could've done it on a pillow in the back of a truck, and it would've been perfect." Paige dipped her head and shook it, smiling shyly. "I'm serious, Paige," Emily said, putting two fingers under her wife's chin to get her to look her in the eye. "I had been waiting for that night for so long."

"Thanks for being patient with me," Paige said with a kiss.

"Hey," Emily said sincerely. "You were worth the wait."

* * *

"Do you think that Shay's okay?" Emily asked her brow furrowed with motherly concern.

"I'm sure that she is," Paige smiled. "And I'm sure that she'd love to get a text from you to let her know that you're thinking about her," Paige continued, answering the question behind the one that Emily had vocalized. She knew that Emily wanted reassurance that she could check up on Shay without her daughter thinking that she was still treating her like a child. At the same time, Paige knew Shay; that, although she might never admit it, she needed to know that her mom was still thinking about her.

Emily fired off a quick text. She and Paige also spoke with the twins before they got changed for bed.

"Ooh – I love this big old California King bed!" Emily oozed as she flopped down backwards on it. Paige lay down beside her, and Emily rubbed her back as a way of thanking her for having done all of the driving.

"It's nice – just the two of us," Paige mused. "No one to tell to go to turn off the lights and go to sleep, no footsteps padding down the hall in the wee hours." She rested her hand on the exposed skin of Emily's back, between the cropped top and the silk boxers of her pajamas.

"Mmmm," Emily cooed at the touch, turning around in the bed and playfully running her fingers through her wife's hair. "That first time in this bed was also the first time that I got to witness naked yoga. Remember when you used to do naked yoga for me?" she asked, smiling widely.

Paige laughed. "You mean last week? Yes, I remember last week!" Emily didn't reply. She just pouted, looking at Paige with pleading eyes. Paige sighed melodramatically and got out of bed and out of her pajamas. Emily jumped onto her knees in bed, her pathetic pout instantly replaced by a smile of delighted anticipation. "The things that I do for you, Emily Fields," Paige mock complained.

"And the things that I shall do for you, Paige McCullers!"

The night turned out to be a short one. Naked yoga ended as it always did, in a desperate, lust-filled mingling of their bodies that left them both tired but incredibly relaxed. Afterwards, they lay beside each other talking well into the early morning hours, enjoying each other and the rare alone-time too much to give in to their bodies' cravings for sleep. They had no real plans for Saturday except to rest up for Sunday. They knew that Sunday would be rough.

* * *

Saturday morning and much of the afternoon were spent almost entirely in bed. They did manage to get up for things like bathroom breaks and hydration. There was a brief point when they each fell asleep, but, for the most part, they filled their time with sex. It felt like being high school kids whose parents were away for the weekend: They couldn't believe how much time they had alone, and all that they wanted to do was fuck. "So, when does that 'lesbian bed-death' thing kick in?" Paige wondered out loud. She got up to do yoga, and, although she happened to be naked, she wasn't doing it for Emily's titillation, but because she really needed to work out some kinks.

"For us? Later. Much later. Like, post-menopause; late eighties or nineties, I'm thinking." Emily was already ready to go again. It wasn't just the naked yoga. She needed an escape. She was dreading Sunday. It was necessary and proper. It had to be done. But that didn't make it any easier. "Paige_" she said seductively. When Paige turned to face her, Emily moved her hands away from her navel.

"I thought that piercing closed up!" Paige remarked, staring at the jewel that Emily uncovered.

"Is that all that you have to say?" Emily inquired, pretending to be offended.

"You know that I've got much more to say about it," Paige grinned. "But I'm going to let my fingers do the talking!"

* * *

In the evening, they dressed up and drove into town for a romantic dinner. The mood was heavy, but the conversation was light. Over dessert, Paige asked Emily what she felt like doing next. "It's still light outside. Do you want to take a walk?"

Emily shook her head. "I just want to pick up a bottle of something. I just want to be irresponsible for tonight. And I want you to hold me. I need you to hold me."

Paige, nodding, reached across the table and grabbed Emily's hand. "It's hard for me, too, Emily."

That night, they lay impossibly close in bed. Paige held Emily as Emily sobbed quietly into the pillow. She wanted to get it all out of her system. She knew that it was silly, but she didn't want Fred and Gloria to see her crying. She knew that they would want her to be happy for them. And she was happy for them. It was only sad for the ones whom they left behind.

Paige let her cry. She knew how much Emily needed the release of a good cry. She didn't offer her any soothing words. She just held her, maintaining as much physical contact between their bodies as was possible.

Emily's thoughts went back to the first time that Paige held her all night, that night when she cried her eyes out over Maya. Back when they were just friends. Whatever else they had been over the years, Paige was always her best friend.

Paige watched over her all night, long after the sobbing stopped; long after her breathing settled into the telltale rhythm of sleep.

* * *

They set out for the cemetery early on Sunday morning. Paige was thoroughly exhausted. Emily was slightly hungover. It seemed, somehow, appropriate that they were both feeling beaten up. If only the skies had been black, the setting would have been perfect.

Emily laid flowers on the grave and manicured the plot a little bit. It was very well-kept, but she needed something to do. When she was satisfied, she folded her legs underneath her and put a hand on the tombstone as she spoke with her friends. Paige stood next to her, her hands supportively on Emily's shoulders.

"Hi, Gloria! Hi, Fred!" Emily said, being as strong and faux-cheerful as she could manage. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it? The kind that makes us wish that we'd never left California. I'm sorry that we haven't been out here to see you. You know how it is, with a house full of kids. But you know that we're always thinking about you. I just wish that they had Skype up in Heaven.

"We're out here because Shay is looking at Stanford. Well, that's why we bought the tickets, at least. Long story short – she didn't want her parents hovering over her all weekend. Anyway, Paige and I decided to make the best of it and have a mini-vacation, so here we are.

"Shay sends her love, by the way. Mitchell and Lindsey do, too. You know that you've always got a special place in Shay's heart, though. She always remembers how very kind you were to her when you flew out to see us in Philadelphia. The way that you were so kind to me when we first met." Emily used her sleeve to wipe away the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry – I... I guess the pollen must be really ba…" Paige knelt down next to Emily and held her. Emily broke down in tears on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She kept repeating those words as she reached a hand back toward the tombstone.

"It's okay, Emily," Paige whispered in her ear. "They understand." At that moment, a few raindrops descended from the sky, though it had been perfectly clear out, and there was no rain in the forecast. "It's hard for them, too," Paige assured her, as raindrops met with Emily's tears on her shoulder. She remained on her knees with Emily leaning into her, both of them ignoring the downpour that had begun around them. When Paige sensed that Emily was starting to collect herself, she stood the two of them up and helped Emily to the car.

Paige turned up the heat in the car to help counteract the cold soaking that they had received. They sat still in the car for a long while. "Would you like some music?" Paige asked, as they started on their way. Emily gave a half smile and shook her head. "Do you want to talk?" Emily shook her head again. She grabbed Paige's hand and interlaced their fingers, squeezing so tight that Paige's pale fingers went white.

"They had a great life," Emily said after twenty minutes or so of riding in silence.

"Yes, they did," Paige smiled.

"Because they were so generous with other people." Emily loosened her hold on Paige's hand a little, to Paige's great relief. She never would have said anything, but she had started to lose feeling in her fingertips.

"Yes – and generous to each other."

"And they had so many great years together. And only a few hours apart from each other." Emily was now playing with Paige's fingertips, and that helped get the circulation going again.

"They were very blessed." Emily nodded her head. "They really loved you, Emily. You added so much to their lives."

Emily nodded again. "Yes," she affirmed. " _We_ did."

When they made it to Palo Alto, they checked into their hotel and headed for the bar in the lobby, to raise a glass to absent friends.

They stopped by the pool before they headed to bed that evening. It may have been silly, but they felt the need to get some water-time in before they met with the swim coach and addressed the team on Monday.

"Today was a hard day," Paige offered as she held Emily in bed.

Emily nodded against the pillow. "It was hard, but it was good. Necessary." she sighed. "I wish that we lived closer, sometimes." Paige nodded and kissed her wife's shoulder.

* * *

Early Monday morning, they headed to campus to meet Coach Beck. It had been years since they had held themselves to the swim team's early-to-rise schedule. The fact that their bodies were still somewhat on East Coast time helped.

They had met Coach Beck at an alumni event in Philadelphia shortly after she took over as coach, when Coach Meehan moved to another college. They still kept in touch with the team and helped with recruitment, but this was their first time meeting her at Stanford, and their first time seeing the upgraded facilities. They were amused to see their larger-than-lifesize faces, along with those of swimmers who had come before and after them, under the words, "A Tradition of Excellence" on the locker room wall. "God - it's a good thing that Shay's not a swimmer!" Emily whispered. "She already thinks that we hover over her all the time!"

Coach Beck had obviously told the team about the visitors' career at Stanford, as many of the team flatteringly asked for autographs and took selfies with them under their picture in the locker room. When one told Emily that she was going after her school freestyle record, Emily put her hand on the swimmer's shoulder and told her confidently that she would definitely break it. Emily was shocked - and somewhat pleased - that the record had stood for all those years.

Coach Beck had arranged for one of the swimmers to show them around campus. They were amazed at how much it had changed over the space of what really didn't seem to be so many years.

"I just love this place, don't you?" Emily asked.

Paige laughed. "I love it more than you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just think about it. If I had gone to Pitt - we never would have had this life."

"I know exactly what you mean."

"I don't think you do. I mean, you would've missed out on me, but I would've missed out on you!"

"Oh, Paige," Emily said with a kiss. "You're still the cheesiest."

Before they left the campus, they had lunch with the tennis coach, who spoke very highly of Shay.

* * *

On their way back to the hotel, they drove by the house that they rented as undergrads. Fred and Gloria had let them know when the Minters retired and moved to Southern California, around the time that the twins started preschool (Paige and Emily's system for remembering dates had become linked to milestones in their children's lives.), and had sent them a link to the real estate listing for the house. They were barely able to recognize their former home in the pictures from the listing. When they drove by, they admired some of the updates that the new owners had made to the landscaping and the exterior colors.

"Do you want to drive past Fred and Gloria's place?"

Emily grabbed Paige's forearm and shook her head. She didn't want to see that house any different than it always had been. There were some memories that she didn't want to let go. There was no need to.

"Let's just drive, Paige." Paige nodded in understanding. Driving had always worked for them.

A thought crossed Paige's mind. With a broad smile, she looked over at Emily and asked, "Hey, you know what we haven't done in years?"

Emily smiled in anticipation. "What?"

"Gone out on the motorcycle track!"

Emily's eyes grew wide. "No! Absolutely not!" Paige just laughed. "And this is not me being chicken! This is me being prudent, Paige! We're moms, now! We have responsibilities!"

Paige was shaking her head throughout Emily's entire speech. "It's not that, Em. I know that you're not chicken!"

"Then, what? What is it, Paige?"

"It's just - you're turning into your mom!" Paige crouched defensively after she put it out there, correctly anticipating the assault of Emily's slaps on her shoulder that followed the loud gasp of shock that Emily let out at Paige's pronouncement.

"Yeah? Well, you're turning into Nick!"

"I have never denied that," Paige smiled. Emily groaned. She hated that she couldn't even tease Paige when Paige refused to take the bait.

* * *

"So," Emily said when they got back to their room, and Paige echoed, "So."

"So, it's our last night of freedom. What do you feel like doing?"

Paige let a guilty grin spread across her face. "As if you have to ask!"

Emily rolled her eyes. "I meant _before_ that! Do you want to go see a movie? Go dancing?"

Paige's eyes brightened. "How could I say 'no' to dancing? Dinner first?"

* * *

"I love this," Paige said, referring to their time together more than to the restaurant. Emily grasped her hand in agreement. "We should eat out more often."

"I don't know," Emily smiled. "I think that I would miss cooking."

"I miss cleaning up the kitchen with you. We used to have so much fun."

"I know, right? It was a good chance to hang out and talk. And fool around, too."

"Now that the kids have taken over that job," Paige lamented, "it seems that we go our separate ways after meals - you to your laptop, and me to mine."

"Yeah. We definitely need times like this once in a while. But I enjoy our family times, too."

"I do, too." After a moment, Paige added, "We should do something with the tw- with Mitchell and Lindsey. I kind of feel that they're getting the short end of this stick; Shay and we go on a trip, and they're stuck with the grandparents."

"Yeah - 'cause being spoiled by Nick and Joanna is such torture!" Emily joked. "I do get what you mean, though." She tilted her head in thought. "How did we end up with such great kids?"

Paige laughed out loud. "We worked our asses off!"

After dinner, they drove into San Francisco and headed for a spot where the music was slower and they could hold each other as they danced. They were in a mellow mood, and they took that mood back to their hotel room, where they slowly, lazily, and contentedly enjoyed each other as the night wore on.

* * *

"Remember how much you used to hate flying with me?" Paige observed as they snaked their way through the check-in line.

"Ugh. I'd still hate having to travel with _that_ Paige. Grumpy Paige. _I_ didn't change, _you_ did."

"Yeah, I did, didn't I? I wonder how that happened."

"The kids happened. You were so different once we started traveling with kids. That first trip with Shay, to visit Fred and Gloria."

"So, you're saying that motherhood agrees with me?"

Emily smiled, leaning in to kiss her. "You were born for motherhood, Paige!"

"You, too, Babe. You've got that whole MILF thing down," Paige asserted with a gesture at Emily's body.

"Yeah?" Emily questioned. Lowering her voice, she added, "I'm the mom that you'd love to fuck?" She leaned in to press her remaining words directly into Paige's ear.

"Emily. You can't tease me like that! It's not fair!"

"That was not teasing, Paige. That was a promise!"

Paige looked around her. "Do you know how crowded this flight is going to be?"

Emily pressed her fingers against Paige's lips to silence her. Also, she wanted the feeling of Paige's soft, full lips under her fingertips. "Don't question me, Babe. I have my ways!"

Paige grinned. "You do. I know that you do!"

* * *

The plane wasn't as packed as the crowds in the check-in line had led them to believe. Although they had low boarding numbers and could have chosen good seats up front, Emily grabbed Paige's hand and led her straight to the rear of the plane. The old Paige would have complained about how long they would have to wait to deplane from way in the back; until, that is, old Paige realized why Emily was leading her there. There was no one except flight attendants around them, and even the flight attendants didn't spend a lot of time in that area. Emily huddled with Paige under an oversized zip-up hoodie and made good on her promise. It was quick, perfunctory, and dirty. The rush of getting away with some public naughtiness got Paige off as much as anything. She also enjoyed the way that Emily slowly stroked up and down her thigh for the rest of the flight.

Paige had chosen flights that connected in Dallas rather than Chicago, having worried that, after they visited the cemetery, it might be too much on Emily to retrace that first flight with the Herndons so many years ago. It extended their trip, but they didn't have to rush to make their connecting flight, which was a good thing. It took forever to get off the plane, since they were stuck all the way in the very last row.

Before they knew it, they were back in their Mom-mobile, headed toward Philadelphia. They had called Nick, and everyone was on board with having the twins stay over an extra night.

Shay wasn't home when they got there, but the house was in good shape.

"Do you think that _Bryce_ spent the night here?" Emily asked, although they both had a pretty good idea of the answer to that question. They trusted Shay to make responsible choices, even if they didn't agree with all of her choices.

"Ugh. Can you imagine when it's Mitchell and Lindsey's turn?"

"Not tonight, I can't," Emily sighed. "Just take me to bed, McCullers."

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone's wondering, here is the list of states. They haven't added any foreign countries. I should really cross-reference it to the chapters, shouldn't I? :)
> 
> 1\. First Time (Lake Tahoe): California
> 
> 2\. Stanford Swim Team: Arizona
> 
> 3\. Stanford Swim Team: Oregon
> 
> 4\. Stanford Swim Team: Washington
> 
> 5\. Nick's House (Summer after Freshman Year): Pennsylvania
> 
> 6\. Potomac Area Stanford Club: Maryland
> 
> 7\. Hastings Shore House: New Jersey
> 
> 8\. Spring Break: Florida
> 
> 9\. Stanford Swim Team: New Mexico
> 
> 10\. Stanford Swim Team: Nevada
> 
> 11\. Spring Break: Texas
> 
> 12\. National Swim Team: Colorado
> 
> 13\. Bucket List Tour: Oklahoma
> 
> 14\. Bucket List Tour: Arkansas
> 
> 15\. Bucket List Tour: Louisiana
> 
> 16\. Honeymoon: Hawaii
> 
> 17\. Shotgun Trip: Connecticut
> 
> 18\. Shotgun Trip: Rhode Island
> 
> 19\. Shotgun Trip: Vermont
> 
> 20\. Shotgun Trip: Massachusetts
> 
> 21\. Shotgun Trip: New York
> 
> 22\. Nick's Wedding: North Carolina
> 
> 23\. Paige's Seminar: Virginia
> 
> 24\. Paige's Seminar: Missouri
> 
> 25\. Road Trip: New Hampshire
> 
> 26\. Road Trip: Maine
> 
> 27\. Road Trip: Delaware (Adopted Ramona)
> 
> 28\. Fred & Gloria: Illinois
> 
> 29\. Mt. Rushmore: South Dakota
> 
> 30\. Paige's Convention: Utah
> 
> 31\. Family Trip: Ohio
> 
> 32\. Family Trip: West Virginia
> 
> 33\. Shay's Tennis: Iowa
> 
> 34\. Shay's College Visits: Michigan
> 
> 35\. Shay's College Visits: South Carolina
> 
> 36\. Emily's Conference: Indiana
> 
> 37\. Emily's Conference: Minnesota
> 
> 38\. Page's Seminar: Tennessee
> 
> 39\. McCullers Reunion: Nebraska


End file.
